Diablo 1 in Diablo 3
At the opening ceremony, it was revealed that the original Diablo game will now be playable (just for January) in Diablo 3. This Diablo version will have pixelated graphics and your character will only be able to move in 8 directions (just like the original version). At first, the Diablo team was thinking of just putting in the soundtrack only but decided to put all 16 levels of the dungeon. This has been in the PTR for a about a week and the players have mixed reviews about it. There aren't any cool new items from this event (except for a new legendary gem for the helm) and the 16 levels doesn't seem like the original levels from Diablo 1. Since this is a seasonal event, I don't think it is worth playing this event for more than a couple hours (much like the "cow" event for the 2 year anniversary for Reaper of Souls). I think it will be cool just to feel nostalgic for a bit and get some cool rewards along the way. I am excited to play this event in January since I haven't played it on PTR yet.
Necromancer
I was real excited when the new Necromancer character was shown at the opening ceremony of BlizzCon 2016. I got a chance to play the Necromancer at the Diablo test station and it feels really good to play it. One of the skills that the Necromancer has is called corpse explosion, which triggers a big explosion once you target a dead corpse on the ground. Another cool skill is called blood rush, which makes you teleport to an area 50 yards away (it has a very short cooldown). The primary skill is called siphon soul, which drains the enemies' health and restores your resource. The secondary skill is bone spirit, which is just a projectile skill that does a certain amount of damage. The Necromancer also has the ability to summon skeletons for you (some which are melee and some that are ranged). The Necromancer was really fun to play at BlizzCon and I especially like the design and artwork for this character. I usually play a Witch Doctor so I am bit hesitant about playing another pet based class. The Necromancer will be playable sometime in the second half of 2017 and will be able to be purchased, along with 2 character slots and 2 more stash space. Some people feel like that the Necromancer should be free but since Diablo 3 doesn't have any payment model (except for the expansions), I think this is a good idea for Blizzard to monetize their game. Who knows but if enough people pay for the Necromancer, this could lead to more classes in the future (maybe the Druid comes next?).
Challenge Rifts
Another cool feature coming to Diablo 3 in the future is Challenge Rifts. Challenge Rifts is a system that takes an existing player and copies his or her rift run for all players. The purpose of this is to "challenge" the original players rift time using the exact same gear and stats. So for example, I run a greater rift 60 in 8 minutes using the Helltooth set, the challenge is for all other players to run the exact the same rift as I did (including the same layout and monsters) with the exact same gear that I had on and try to beat the time of 8 minutes. I think this will be a cool feature to the game since it will determine who will be the best player of Diablo 3. The best player currently in Diablo 3 is mostly based on the amount of time a player has put into the game. This feature will more focus on the "skill" aspect of Diablo 3. I don't think this feature that is something that I will focus on a lot since it doesn't affect the current characters that you are playing. I think it will be more focused on the higher skilled players of Diablo 3 (it may even lead to some kind of e-sport mechanism). I think this feature will become like the "brawl" events in Hearthstone and Overwatch (it will be cool to try).
Other changes (quality of life changes)
There were other changes coming to Diablo 3. The first was that seasons were coming to the consoles (PS4 and XBox1). I don't play on the console so this doesn't affect me. Another change was that there is going to be a new crafting mats UI. I think this is a real good change since you won't have all the crafting taking up space in your inventory. It should make things like Kanai's Cube more manageable and easier to use. Another change is the new armory system. The armory system will let you save different builds for your character. I really like this system because it is very difficult and time consuming to change your build in Diablo 3 right now. Once you save your different builds, it will be easy to switch from (for example) a greater rift running build to a speed farming build.
That was all the changes coming to Diablo 3 announced at BlizzCon. I am sure there are many other changes that the devs at Diablo are thinking of putting into Diablo 3. While none of these changes will affect the end-game of Diablo 3, I think these changes will bring about more ideas and future changes that can be made to the game. The more events, classes, features and small quality of life changes there are, the better off the game will be. One small story from BlizzCon that I wanted to share with you is that there is an easter egg hidden in one of the Diablo shirts.
The hint that I was given was to use the letters in Caldeum, Stoney Field and Wortham. I think it really surprised me when I found the easter egg (moo!!).
Necromancer
I was real excited when the new Necromancer character was shown at the opening ceremony of BlizzCon 2016. I got a chance to play the Necromancer at the Diablo test station and it feels really good to play it. One of the skills that the Necromancer has is called corpse explosion, which triggers a big explosion once you target a dead corpse on the ground. Another cool skill is called blood rush, which makes you teleport to an area 50 yards away (it has a very short cooldown). The primary skill is called siphon soul, which drains the enemies' health and restores your resource. The secondary skill is bone spirit, which is just a projectile skill that does a certain amount of damage. The Necromancer also has the ability to summon skeletons for you (some which are melee and some that are ranged). The Necromancer was really fun to play at BlizzCon and I especially like the design and artwork for this character. I usually play a Witch Doctor so I am bit hesitant about playing another pet based class. The Necromancer will be playable sometime in the second half of 2017 and will be able to be purchased, along with 2 character slots and 2 more stash space. Some people feel like that the Necromancer should be free but since Diablo 3 doesn't have any payment model (except for the expansions), I think this is a good idea for Blizzard to monetize their game. Who knows but if enough people pay for the Necromancer, this could lead to more classes in the future (maybe the Druid comes next?).
Challenge Rifts
Another cool feature coming to Diablo 3 in the future is Challenge Rifts. Challenge Rifts is a system that takes an existing player and copies his or her rift run for all players. The purpose of this is to "challenge" the original players rift time using the exact same gear and stats. So for example, I run a greater rift 60 in 8 minutes using the Helltooth set, the challenge is for all other players to run the exact the same rift as I did (including the same layout and monsters) with the exact same gear that I had on and try to beat the time of 8 minutes. I think this will be a cool feature to the game since it will determine who will be the best player of Diablo 3. The best player currently in Diablo 3 is mostly based on the amount of time a player has put into the game. This feature will more focus on the "skill" aspect of Diablo 3. I don't think this feature that is something that I will focus on a lot since it doesn't affect the current characters that you are playing. I think it will be more focused on the higher skilled players of Diablo 3 (it may even lead to some kind of e-sport mechanism). I think this feature will become like the "brawl" events in Hearthstone and Overwatch (it will be cool to try).
Other changes (quality of life changes)
There were other changes coming to Diablo 3. The first was that seasons were coming to the consoles (PS4 and XBox1). I don't play on the console so this doesn't affect me. Another change was that there is going to be a new crafting mats UI. I think this is a real good change since you won't have all the crafting taking up space in your inventory. It should make things like Kanai's Cube more manageable and easier to use. Another change is the new armory system. The armory system will let you save different builds for your character. I really like this system because it is very difficult and time consuming to change your build in Diablo 3 right now. Once you save your different builds, it will be easy to switch from (for example) a greater rift running build to a speed farming build.
That was all the changes coming to Diablo 3 announced at BlizzCon. I am sure there are many other changes that the devs at Diablo are thinking of putting into Diablo 3. While none of these changes will affect the end-game of Diablo 3, I think these changes will bring about more ideas and future changes that can be made to the game. The more events, classes, features and small quality of life changes there are, the better off the game will be. One small story from BlizzCon that I wanted to share with you is that there is an easter egg hidden in one of the Diablo shirts.
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